Drive-chain



(No Mudel.)

L. M. RUMSEY.

DRIVE CHAIN.

No.252,005. l Patented Jan.3, 1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT -OFF'1CE. a

LEWIS M. RUMSEY, OFST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

DRIVE-CHAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 252,005, dated January 3, 1882.

Application filed December 7, 1881. (No model.)

v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that. I, LEWIs M. RUMSEY, a citizen of the United States, residing, at St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drive-Chains, of which the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description, which will enable any person skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

My invention relates to that form of chains which are made up of wire links, and are adapted to be coupled and uncoupled by means of the elasticity of the wire-such, for example, as

shown in patentgranted to me August 3, 1880,

g the free ends thereof, andwhen bent as hereinafter described having end bar, B, and two hooks D D. y

In the construction of the links I prefer to use square wire, although I sometimes use round or oval; but the square form gives broader bearing-surfaces for the articulations, when the links are coupled together, and is better on this account. As before stated, the link has but one crossbar, B, which is at some distance from one end, as the two books D D project beyond it. This bar as well as the two hooks and the side bars are all in the same plane; but the eyes G G on the free ends of the side barsare formed at rightangles, or nearly so, to the general plane of the link. At the point where the hooks are formedthewire is doubled, which adds both to the strength of the link and increases the bearingsurface. 1

In Fig. l the crossbaris shown as straight, or bent at a right angle to the side bars; but in Fig. 3 I have shown a slightly modified form, where the end bar is curved" outwardly. For some purposes this form may be preferable, as the links are less easily disengaged. V

The parts may also be reversed, and still be within the scope of my invention-that is to In the formation of the links the wire is cut I into suitable lengths proportionate to the sized link required, the eyes are formed on the ends, and it is bent twice at right angles. The blank has then the form of a three-sided parallelogram, and the hooks are formed at the bends or corners, which completes the link. The whole operation may be performed on a suitable wire-bending machine, or with a droppress. r

The mode of coupling and uncouplingthe links will be apparent. The links being made of spring metal, it is only necessary to press the side bars of a link toward each other until they will engage with the hooks'on the end of an adjacent link, when the elasticity of the metal will prevent their accidental separation. Any number of links may be thus coupled until a chain of the desired length is formed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim asnew is- 1. A link for drive-chains formed of spring metal, with two parallel or nearly parallel side bars, having eyes at one end and hooks at the other, said hooks and eyes being at right angles to each other, and the side bars being connected by a cross bar at one end only, substantially as specified. a

2. A link for drivechains formed of spring metal, with two parallel or nearly parallel side bars, having at one end eyes or loops formed thereon and at right angles thereto, and at the opposite end a cross-bar, and inwardly-bent projecting hooks in the same horizontal plane as the side and cross bars, and adapted to be coupled to similar links to form a chain, substantially as set forth.

3. A link for drive-chains formed of spring a 

